The mission of the UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice is to expand the legal community’s discourse on the structural inequities subordinating our communities and to inspire actionable solutions. The UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice strives to accomplish this by advancing progressive, intersectional, and innovative scholarship and lawyering. We aim to disrupt the landscape of legal academia by creating a space to interrogate disparities in the legal system and to amplify tools and strategies for effecting meaningful change that prioritizes human rights.

ROOT Legal is a nonprofit law firm and community organizing project building alternatives to the criminal legal system. We blend legal representation, mediation, transformative justice, and lived-experience research to support court-designated victims (CDVs) who seek safety and accountability outside of carceral systems.

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Our model helps CDVs resolve cases and access care without relying on prosecution, while offering non-punitive paths to accountability. Recognizing that communities most impacted by harm are often the most abandoned by legal institutions, we co-create support systems rooted in community-defined safety, not surveillance or coercion.

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Grounded in participatory defense and movement lawyering, ROOT Legal works in deep coalition with grassroots partners, because we know legal advocacy alone can’t dismantle systems built on punishment and exclusion.